The Thomas F. Bayard was a 19th-century Delaware Riverpilotschooner built by C. & R. Poillonshipyard in 1880. She spent sixteen years as a pilot boat before being sold during the Yukon Gold Rush in 1897. She was sold again in 1906 for Seal hunting, then purchased by the Department of Marine & Fisheries where she guided freighters into New Westminster, British Columbia for 43 years. She was then acquired by the Vancouver Maritime Museum in 1978. When she sank at her mooring in 2002, the International Yacht Restoration School, Mystic Seaport and the Vancouver Maritime Museum, removed the vessel in pieces for the archeological teams to study and document the remains of her hull. The Thomas F. Bayard Collection, at the Vancouver Maritime Museum, contains the documents, history and preservation efforts.
Thomas F. Bayard was a pilot schooner built in 1880, by ship designer William Townsend, superintendent of the C. & R. Poillonshipyard in Brooklyn, New York. Townsend previously, designed the yacht Sappho, which won the America's Cup in 1871. The Bayard, Sappho and America were based on the same design and were of similar size. She was launched on March 13, 1880, and built for Captain Henry Virden, of Philadelphia at a cost of $15,000.[1] She was named in honor of Thomas F. Bayard, an early Delaware politician and United States Senator from Wilmington, Delaware.[2][3] The sail number "2" was painted in black on her mainsail to distinguish her from other pilot-boats.
For the first sixteen years, the Thomas F. Bayard, No. 2, was used as Delaware pilot boat that helped transport maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the Port of Philadelphia. She was one of the last schooners in the Delaware Bay service.[1]
The Thomas F. Bayard was registered as a pilot Schooner with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping from 1881 to 1900. Her ship owners were Philadelphia Pilots; built in 1880 at Brooklyn, Long Island; and her hailing port was the Port of Philadelphia. Her dimensions were 94 ft. in length; 21.4 ft. breadth of beam; 13 ft. depth of hold; and 70-tons Tonnage.[4] The sail number "2" was painted in black on her mainsail to distinguish her from other pilot-boats.
End of serviceEdit
Steam power rendered the Thomas F. Bayard obsolete. As a result, on July 15, 1897, she was purchased by the Alaska Transport, Trading and Mining Company, who used her to transport miners and freight for the Yukon Gold Rush. She sailed out to the Pacific Northwest around the Cape Horn and traded as far north as St. Michael's at the mouth of the Yukon River, Alaska and as far south as Seattle and Port Townsend, Washington. In 1906, when the Gold Rush ended, she was sold to Captain Hans Blakstad, who used her as a sealer for seal and sea otter fishing out of Victoria, British Columbia. In 1911, she was purchased by the Canadian Department of Marine & Fisheries for use as a lightship. She worked with the fleet of vessels at the mouth of the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. She was renamed, the Sandsheads No. 16, and guided freighters into New Westminster, British Columbia for 43 years until 1956. In 1969 she became a houseboat in Mosquito Creek in North Vancouver.[1]
The Bayard was then acquired by the Vancouver Maritime Museum in 1978 for $8,500. More than $100,000 was spent on her restoration.[1][5] She was towed to Sterling Shipyards where she was rebuilt from 1979 to 1980. During this time the Bayard was recognized by the British Columbia Historical Trust as a Heritage Vessel. The Vancouver Maritime Museum received a $50,000.00 grant from the British Columbia Heritage Trust that was used in her restoration.[6] In December 1983, the Thomas F. Bayard Restoration Society was formed by a local group, headed by president Doug Ford. The goal of the committee was to restore the vessel as a "sealer" vessel and allow the public to view her while moored at the museum's harbor. In 1990 the Thomas F. Bayard Restoration Society took the lead in trying to raise more money to restore the vessel.[6]
The Bayard was then exhibited at the Vancouver Museum where she was visited by thousands of people. In December 1996, the Bayard suffered a setback when over three feet of snow covered her and caused her to sink at her mooring.[2] In September 2002, the century-old pilot boat was found grounded in low tide near False Creek.[7] The city hauled the sunken boat out of the creek in pieces for the U.S. based International Yacht Restoration School, Mystic Seaport and the Vancouver Maritime Museum, for the archeological teams to study and document the remains of her hull.[8] The Thomas F. Bayard collection, at the Vancouver Maritime Museum, includes photographs, textual records and negatives related to the history and preservation efforts.[6]
^ abcd"Thomas F. Bayard, schooner". Digital Commonwealth. Massachusetts. 1984. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
^ abCunliffe, Tom (2001). Pilots, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar. Brooklin, Maine: WoodenBoat. p. 64. ISBN9780937822692.
^"A New Pilot-Boat". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. 17 Mar 1880. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
^"Record of American and Foreign Shipping". Mystic Seaport Museum. New York. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
^"Museum bags a fine trophy". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 6 Oct 1978. p. 122. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
^ abc"Thomas F. Bayard". Vancouver Maritime Museum. Vancouver, British Columbia. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
^"Schooner with "tough sinews and full red-running veins'". The Daily Times. Salisbury, Maryland. 2 Dec 2015. p. T38. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
^"Rotting hulk of old tall ship meets sad, shattering finale". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 28 Sep 2002. p. 30. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas F. Bayard (pilot boat).
August 25, 2023
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The Thomas F Bayard was a 19th century Delaware River pilot schooner built by C amp R Poillon shipyard in 1880 She spent sixteen years as a pilot boat before being sold during the Yukon Gold Rush in 1897 She was sold again in 1906 for Seal hunting then purchased by the Department of Marine amp Fisheries where she guided freighters into New Westminster British Columbia for 43 years She was then acquired by the Vancouver Maritime Museum in 1978 When she sank at her mooring in 2002 the International Yacht Restoration School Mystic Seaport and the Vancouver Maritime Museum removed the vessel in pieces for the archeological teams to study and document the remains of her hull The Thomas F Bayard Collection at the Vancouver Maritime Museum contains the documents history and preservation efforts Pilot boat Thomas F Bayard HistoryUnited StatesNameThomas F BayardNamesakeThomas F Bayard United States SenatorOwnerDelaware Pilots Henry VirdenBuilderC amp R PoillonCost 15 000LaunchedMarch 13 1880Out of serviceJuly 15 1897RenamedSandsheadsFateSoldGeneral characteristicsClass and typeschoonerTonnage70 tons TMLength94 ft 0 in 28 65 m Beam21 ft 4 in 6 50 m Depth13 ft 0 in 3 96 m PropulsionSailSail plan98 ft 0 in 29 87 m Mainmast 95 ft 0 in 28 96 m ForemastNotesWood hulled copper sheathed two masted schooner Contents 1 Construction and service 2 End of service 3 See also 4 External links 5 ReferencesConstruction and service EditThomas F Bayard was a pilot schooner built in 1880 by ship designer William Townsend superintendent of the C amp R Poillon shipyard in Brooklyn New York Townsend previously designed the yacht Sappho which won the America s Cup in 1871 The Bayard Sappho and America were based on the same design and were of similar size She was launched on March 13 1880 and built for Captain Henry Virden of Philadelphia at a cost of 15 000 1 She was named in honor of Thomas F Bayard an early Delaware politician and United States Senator from Wilmington Delaware 2 3 The sail number 2 was painted in black on her mainsail to distinguish her from other pilot boats For the first sixteen years the Thomas F Bayard No 2 was used as Delaware pilot boat that helped transport maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the Port of Philadelphia She was one of the last schooners in the Delaware Bay service 1 The Thomas F Bayard was registered as a pilot Schooner with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping from 1881 to 1900 Her ship owners were Philadelphia Pilots built in 1880 at Brooklyn Long Island and her hailing port was the Port of Philadelphia Her dimensions were 94 ft in length 21 4 ft breadth of beam 13 ft depth of hold and 70 tons Tonnage 4 The sail number 2 was painted in black on her mainsail to distinguish her from other pilot boats End of service EditSteam power rendered the Thomas F Bayard obsolete As a result on July 15 1897 she was purchased by the Alaska Transport Trading and Mining Company who used her to transport miners and freight for the Yukon Gold Rush She sailed out to the Pacific Northwest around the Cape Horn and traded as far north as St Michael s at the mouth of the Yukon River Alaska and as far south as Seattle and Port Townsend Washington In 1906 when the Gold Rush ended she was sold to Captain Hans Blakstad who used her as a sealer for seal and sea otter fishing out of Victoria British Columbia In 1911 she was purchased by the Canadian Department of Marine amp Fisheries for use as a lightship She worked with the fleet of vessels at the mouth of the Fraser River in British Columbia Canada She was renamed the Sandsheads No 16 and guided freighters into New Westminster British Columbia for 43 years until 1956 In 1969 she became a houseboat in Mosquito Creek in North Vancouver 1 The Bayard was then acquired by the Vancouver Maritime Museum in 1978 for 8 500 More than 100 000 was spent on her restoration 1 5 She was towed to Sterling Shipyards where she was rebuilt from 1979 to 1980 During this time the Bayard was recognized by the British Columbia Historical Trust as a Heritage Vessel The Vancouver Maritime Museum received a 50 000 00 grant from the British Columbia Heritage Trust that was used in her restoration 6 In December 1983 the Thomas F Bayard Restoration Society was formed by a local group headed by president Doug Ford The goal of the committee was to restore the vessel as a sealer vessel and allow the public to view her while moored at the museum s harbor In 1990 the Thomas F Bayard Restoration Society took the lead in trying to raise more money to restore the vessel 6 The Bayard was then exhibited at the Vancouver Museum where she was visited by thousands of people In December 1996 the Bayard suffered a setback when over three feet of snow covered her and caused her to sink at her mooring 2 In September 2002 the century old pilot boat was found grounded in low tide near False Creek 7 The city hauled the sunken boat out of the creek in pieces for the U S based International Yacht Restoration School Mystic Seaport and the Vancouver Maritime Museum for the archeological teams to study and document the remains of her hull 8 The Thomas F Bayard collection at the Vancouver Maritime Museum includes photographs textual records and negatives related to the history and preservation efforts 6 See also EditDelaware Pilot boats Pilots Association For The Bay amp River DelawareExternal links EditThomas F Bayard collectionReferences Edit a b c d Thomas F Bayard schooner Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts 1984 Retrieved 2021 08 18 a b Cunliffe Tom 2001 Pilots The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar Brooklin Maine WoodenBoat p 64 ISBN 9780937822692 A New Pilot Boat St Louis Post Dispatch St Louis Missouri 17 Mar 1880 p 4 Retrieved 2021 08 18 Record of American and Foreign Shipping Mystic Seaport Museum New York Retrieved 2021 08 18 Museum bags a fine trophy The Vancouver Sun Vancouver British Columbia Canada 6 Oct 1978 p 122 Retrieved 2021 08 18 a b c Thomas F Bayard Vancouver Maritime Museum Vancouver British Columbia Retrieved 2021 08 18 Schooner with tough sinews and full red running veins The Daily Times Salisbury Maryland 2 Dec 2015 p T38 Retrieved 2021 08 18 Rotting hulk of old tall ship meets sad shattering finale The Vancouver Sun Vancouver British Columbia Canada 28 Sep 2002 p 30 Retrieved 2021 08 18 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas F Bayard pilot boat Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas F Bayard pilot boat amp oldid 1159768526, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
